Combs through millions of online photos to find specific victims, in seconds

Pittsburgh – June 27, 2017 – Marinus Analytics, a startup from Carnegie Mellon University, has found a way to harness the power of “big data” to solve one of our most difficult problems – the surge in human trafficking online.

Whenever, wherever victims are advertised, Traffic Jam can find them.

Marinus Analytics is the first to effectively turn facial recognition technology against the vast, clandestine networks of human traffickers that prey upon our most vulnerable citizens.

Marinus Analytics has the most advanced software available for human trafficking detectives.

“Traffic Jam is the beginning of applied artificial intelligence to find victims of sex trafficking online. Our mission at Marinus has always been to innovate for social good, and FaceSearch is a giant leap forward towards that goal. We are proud to assist the important work done by investigators across the world,” said Emily Kennedy, CEO of Marinus Analytics.

It is this kind of mission driven innovation that makes them the best in the industry.

— Nic McKinley, Executive Director of DeliverFund

The combination of the new FaceSearch into the existing Traffic Jam platform will make it possible for detectives to start with a photo of a missing child, a social media photo, or a photo from a social worker, and quickly determine whether this potential victim has been advertised online for commercial sex.

Tim Hoppock, Detective at Austin Police Department, said about FaceSearch, “When I began working with Marinus Analytics several years ago, I explained the need for FaceSearch technology, so I am very excited to see this software roll out. Marinus Analytics has the most advanced software available for human trafficking detectives, and I believe this technology will be a game changer for investigators of human trafficking.”

FaceSearch will revolutionize the response to human trafficking, enabling investigators and social workers to quickly identify at-risk youth and adults, and helping law enforcement conduct successful rescues, through the vast law enforcement network Marinus has developed over the past six years.

Our mission at Marinus has always been to innovate for social good, and FaceSearch is a giant leap forward towards that goal.

— Emily Kennedy, CEO of Marinus Analytics

"It has long been difficult for law enforcement to find those most vulnerable to sexual exploitation: runaways, foster kids, and missing children. There has never been a way to look for them efficiently, until now. Traffic Jam’s FaceSearch adds state of the art facial recognition to the Traffic Jam suite of tools, and it has the potential to revolutionize law enforcement’s ability to find and rescue these victims,” said Nic McKinley, Executive Director of DeliverFund, a non-profit dedicated to stopping human trafficking. “It is this kind of mission driven innovation that makes them the best in the industry."